Alison Meuse

Investors in Lebanon's port city of Tripoli hope its proximity to Syria makes it the hub for hundreds of billions of dollars in reconstruction when the Syrian civil war ends — someday.

Iraq's military said ISIS destroyed the 12th century al-Nuri mosque in Mosul's Old City, where ISIS fighters remain. Allied forces are trying to recapture the last of the city.

Police say one person died after a vehicle hit pedestrians near a mosque in north London. The U.S. military says it shot down a Syrian Air Force jet that bombed U.S.-backed forces fighting ISIS.

ISIS claimed responsibility for attacks in Tehran, one on Iran's parliament, the other on a shrine to Ayatollah Khomeni. Attacks are very unusual in Iran, which is a relatively peaceful place.

Hezbollah's support of Syria's government has been controversial, so the Lebanese militant group is trying to remind people what made it popular before: fighting Israel.

The U.S. had to step into northern Syria recently to keep two factions it supports from fighting with each other. They're supposed to be fighting ISIS.

Over the past week, normally secure areas of Damascus, Syria have been hit by deadly explosions. It could signal a push by a powerful jihadist coalition to shape the direction of the conflict.

Activists say more than 300,000 people have been detained over the course of Syria's civil war. A Syrian lawyer is trying to get the plight of detainees on the agenda at peace talks.

In some areas of Syria, local truces have averted deadly military takeovers. But in a suburb north of Damascus, rebel fighters say their departure resulted more from coercion than negotiation.

After a week of heavy fighting and shelling, evacuations have begun in the besieged city of Aleppo. A few thousand people have been able to leave, but still many are trapped in the eastern part of the Syrian city.